This blog on Texas education contains posts on accountability, testing, college readiness, dropouts, bilingual education, immigration, school finance, race, class, and gender issues with additional focus at the national level.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Rodriguez: SB185 is a Rehash of Bill Defeated in 2011

Senator José Rodriguez lays out here why this bill is both bad policy and inhumane.

-Angela

Senator
Jose Rodriguez outlined reasons why SB185, the so-called “sanctuary
cities” bill, is bad public policy. While it’s been delayed, chances are
it will be brought back up by the committee.

This bill, a rehash of legislation that was defeated in 2011,
is simply bad policy and bad business. I’ve summarized six major points
that illustrate why it’s such a time-waster for a Legislature that has
important business to take care of — budget and taxes, education
funding, access to health care and other key governance issues.

1. It seeks to solve a non-existent problem.
There is no indication that local law enforcement needs this authority,
which is reserved exclusively for the federal government, to keep
communities safe. Quite the opposite, as point number two illustrates. I
find this particularly ironic given that it’s being put forth by
representatives who claim they are for small government.

2. It harms public safety. In 2011,
this legislation was overwhelmingly opposed by county sheriffs and
police chiefs. El Paso County Sheriff Wiles spoke out against this
legislation because as he stated it would undermine his ability to work
with immigrant communities and effectively combat cartel activity.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo and many others made similar comments.

3. It’s bad business for Texas. Similar
legislation in Arizona cost $5 million in lost taxes from SB 1070 and
$135 million in lost economic output. We can’t afford to lose current
business or future investors. It also does not make sense to drive
workers away from labor-intensive but critical sectors such as
construction and agriculture.

4. It targets children. While SB 185
exempts school officials, it includes school peace officers. I’m not one
who thinks it makes sense to punish children who are in our
communities, regardless of documentation, by pushing them out of school
and into the streets.

5. It has legal implications that don’t
appear to have been thought through. It will inevitably lead to racial
profiling. It is likely to lead to violations of the Equal Protection
Clause, the Supremacy Clause and the Fourth Amendment. In fact, the
issue already came up in El Paso County, where the El Paso County
Sheriffs Department was sued for pulling passengers off a bus and asking
them their immigration status; the lawsuit was settled when the department agreed to establish a written policy and train its officers.
Further, it places schools in an untenable position: If their peace
officers do not ask immigration questions they could lose state funding,
and if they do ask they could be sued in federal court.

6. It hurts families. So called
“sanctuary cities” policies have the potential to divide mixed-status
families in Texas. Leading faith leaders opposing this legislation in
2011 including the Catholic Conference of Bishops, the Christian Life
Commission, Texas Impact, the National Council of Jewish Women, the
Anti-Defamation League, Evangelical Pastors, and numerous other
religious orders and clergy members.

Only a few days ago, President Obama, in his Selma
speech, reminded us of one of our country’s enduring sources of
greatness, immigration. The United States of America still is the
world’s greatest destination for those yearning to breath free. We need
to fix our system to reflect that reality, not punish those who have
risked everything to be here.